How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac Set up a Bluetooth audio device to work with Mac - macOS User Guide - macOS Catalina 10.15 If sound quality is reduced when using Bluetooth headphones with your Mac
Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference Which Bluetooth headset are you using? Have you tried using a different Bluetooth device? Are there any issues with audio delay using the built-in speakers on your Mac? In addition to the troubleshooting you have already done, here a some additional steps you can try: I understand you are having issues with audio delay with macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave on your 2013 MacBook Pro. Welcome to the Apple Support Communities! Regardless, does anybody have any ideas to fix this issue? Thanks Since I still have this issue on a fresh install, I feel this is a software bug. It really seems that Apple's quality control has deteriorated recently. On Catalina, I have not figured out a way temporarily (or permanently) fix the issue. At least when I had the issue on Mojave, I could quit bluetoothaudiod and reset the issue. It is really annoying to watch a video with unsynchronized audio. I have installed a fresh version of Catalina in a new volume, and I still have this issue, so I believe it has to be a bug in the software. I have reset my PRAM, deleted my bluetooth plist file, and run Apple Diagnostics, and nothing has solved the issue. Besides the macOS version, nothing has changed (devices, environment, etc.).
I've had this laptop (Retina MacBook Pro late 2013) for nearly 6 years now, and haven't had any bluetooth audio issues until the last few months.
I haven't had this specific issue in Catalina, but it makes me feel as if Apple has introduced some issues in bluetooth audio near the end of Mojave that persist in Catalina. Once I opened Activity Monitor and force quit bluetoothaudiod, any video I was trying to play would unfreeze. I previously had an issue in one of the later updates of Mojave where after a while, when trying to play any video, the video would stay frozen. It happens in a web browser with YouTube, in QuickTime Player, and in Optimus Player. The weird thing is it will usually eventually fix itself temporarily, before becoming unsynchronized again. Also, switching to different videos (like when browsing YouTube) causes the audio to become unsynchronized. When I first start watching a video, the sound is usually synchronized, but if I skip to another point in the video, it'll become unsynchronized. The issue got a little better after updating to 10.15.1, but the issue is still there. Since upgrading to macOS Catalina, my bluetooth headset has had an issue with audio delay.